Inner Mongolia -- Road to inner peace

"WELCOME TO WALLPAPER LAND!" ---- That ought to be the sign greeting us as we enter Inner Mongolia! 

Rated as one of the best grasslands in China, Xilin Gol 锡林格勒, approximately 700km North of Beijing, definitely lives up to its 'One of the Best Grasslands' title. 

I'll let these pictures do the talking. All these were taken with my camera phone... No filters, No photoshop. Just imagine how beautiful these pictures would be if they were taken with a professional camera!

Road to inner Mongolia, and to Inner peace... *ohmm...* =)

Departing from smoggy Beijing early in the morning, these sights were precious! 

Clear blue skies, fluffy clouds floating in the air, S P A C E , clean air !

Look at the reflection of the clouds on the lake! No filters... Only my camera-phone's Panoramic function.

Dali Lake 达里诺湖

How can anyone Not be a Happy Camper... =)

Xilin Gol means 'River on the Plateau' in the Mongolian language. It is said that the Xilin River bend is the most beautiful place in the grasslands. 

Below's a picture I took off the 'Foreigner in China' website, since I did not manage to snap a stunning photo which would do justice to Xilin Gol River's title as 'the most beautiful place in the grasslands'.

And since I mentioned the Mongolian language, I'd just like to quickly show you how Mongolian characters look like. It's fascinating how it's written (or drawn)... At one glance they look like Scorpions to me, heh... I suppose I now understand how people who don't know the Chinese language must feel, when they see Chinese characters...

More pictures of the grasslands...

This area is called 平顶山 -- Literally meaning 'Flat-top Mountains'. It's pretty amazing being surrounded by many (what I'd like to call) 'Mini Table Mountains', like the one in Cape Town, South Africa.

Our little convoy to Inner Mongolia.

July to September would be the best time to visit the grasslands since the weather's more temperate, so you can dress like in the picture above. Though it's advisable to bring along a jacket as the temperature could drop to a pleasant 10C to 15C during the night. Don't forget an umbrella too, since summer can be a tad rainy.

Autumn is said to be the best months for visiting the deserts, though you've got to be ready to face sandstorms both in Autumn and Spring.

Probably not as many flowers as in Spring, but you can still find charming fields of flowers, such as this -- A field of flowers from the Potato plant.

 Not forgetting wildflowers! Enough to make many wildflower headbands!! :)

I've only ever seen carts being pulled by Horses and Oxen. To see a Little Billy Goat Gruff pull a cart bigger than itself was quite a surprise, and cute! 

I like this picture of the Mongolian man and his lamb. The backdrop's gorgeous too!

Beautiful backdrop + cute lamb = Perfect photo opp :) 
This cute little lamb reminded me of my dogs at home and did make me reconsider becoming a vegetarian... But meat (particularly mutton and beef), along with dairy products (i.e. Milk Tea, Cheese, Fermented mare's milk, Milk liquor) are an indispensable part of the Mongolians' diet.

*Warning: Graphic images coming up (3rd and 4th image), not suitable for Vegetarians, Animal Lovers and PETA people.

Salted milk-tea, typically served for breakfast, and can be turned into a robust soup by adding rice or millet with meat. I guess this milk tea can be a little shocking to the palate of South East Asians since the simple mention of 'Milk tea' makes us expect something sweet in our mouths... Don't expect the milk tea you get in Hong Kong and Taiwan, or the 'Teh Tarik' (Indian pulled tea with milk) you find in Malaysia and Singapore.

My adaptable palate quickly got used to the taste of the salted milk tea and I drank quite a few bowls despite some people's warnings of its laxative effects. It went down well with my tummy.

However, the one thing which I absolutely could not stomach, or even take-in was this....

Fermented mare's milk.

It was sour, rough on the tongue, tasted astringent and very much like rotten milk to me. The smell alone was pungent, but I didn't want to be quick to judge. Moreover, coming from Malaysia, the land of 'The King of Fruits' - Durian, or like the Smelly Tofu 臭豆腐 in China and Taiwan, there's a chance that it may not taste as it smells...... I ignored my gut feeling and took a sip. Before it even made it down my throat, I dashed out of the yurt and spat... Thankfully the locals weren't around to see me spit, or I may be blacklisted and banned from entering Inner Mongolia for being rude and disrespectful.

I had to spit a few times to get rid of the lingering taste of 'rotten milk' on my tongue. It seemed to have settled in very nicely on my tongue despite having the fermented milk in my mouth for merely a few seconds. Apologies to those that love this drink, but it was unfortunately -- Foul :(

However, Horse milk is scientifically proven to have more nutrients and lower fat content compared to cow's milk, but horse milk generally isn't consumed raw due to its high lactose content (40% more than cow's milk), which makes Raw horse milk the perfect laxative :) Hence it has to be Fermented, making it more accessible for human consumption.

Sheep head on display at a restaurant, along with many other parts of the animal, organs included.  This image reminded me of a picture I took in Barcelona's St. Josef Market... :(

Ok, let's not be morbid. I'll change the topic. 

While driving, it's quite common to see these white/blue Mongolian yurts mushroomed across the grasslands. Quite a nice sight which definitely completes the picture of being in Mongolia.

Modern day Mongolian yurt.

I was pretty satisfied with my horse-riding experience in Inner Mongolia this time. I finally had the chance to ride like a real horseman in the grasslands and it was great!! I certainly learned from my last horse-riding experience in Bashang Grasslands -- the closest grasslands to Beijing, but not as awesome as Xilin Gol ;p

Inner Mongolia is simply beautiful. I wonder why more people don't move there. I should relocate to Inner Mongolia to rear sheep, milk cows, ride horses and camels! But if ever I decide to become a Vegetarian, or worse - A Vegan... It's going to be difficult to survive here, hah =p